WePlay and The Bot Platform collaborate to bring the benefits of Facebook Messenger to sports marketing

Leading digital sports agency, WePlay and Facebook tech partner, The Bot Platform have announced a collaboration to bring Facebook Messenger Bots to sports teams. This technology which the Bot Platform has successfully deployed for clients in media and music, gives sports teams an edge in increasing commercial and sponsorship revenues, decreasing paid-social costs and encouraging fans to engage with their favourite team 24/7.

With several high-profile sports teams including Premier League & EFL clubs lined up to take advantage of this new technology in the near feature, both WePlay and The Bot Platform are excited about the positive effects messenger bots can have on the sports marketing landscape.

“It’s a pioneering step forward for the industry” says Luca Massaro, Founder and CEO of WePlay. “Marketing today is a challenge. More money is being left on the table than most teams realise – missed commercial opportunities through tickets, tours, memberships and merchandise, as well as through sponsorship sales and activations.

“Marketing campaigns underperform because the market is heavily fragmented across multiple channels, both on and offline, with limited access to remarketing data. Teams can’t control how or when fans see content and struggle to track a fan’s activity across different marketing channels. And we know it can cost a small fortune to reach even 10% of your total social audience.

We see Facebook Messenger Bots as a new marketing channel that can address these challenges,” says Massaro. Bots create an ‘automated loyalty engine,’ drawing in fans from social networks, the web and email, and then upselling to create loyalty and sales.”

Syd Lawrence, CEO of the Bot Platform, says, “Bots combine a 99% read rate and 60% subscription rate with ‘set-and-forget’ interactivity and personalisation – which encourages fans to stay in touch 24/7. Bots also provide incredible opportunities for remarketing, because every push message places the user back into Bot, asking them to explore its content once more.

“Bots provide a number of quick wins for football teams,” he adds. “Because Bot messages are read immediately, Bots can instantly create and activate events for sponsors – or increase the activation of an existing sponsorship. They’re a discreet private channel to shift overstocked merchandise, tickets or stadium tours. They also significantly reduce paid social costs – and they’re a terrific way to identify and engage high-spending superfans.